News

Key Housing Market Indicators Up in September

October 16, 2017

SPRINGFIELD (October 16, 2017) Capital Area REALTORS® (CAR) Multiple Listing Service statistics for September show year-over-year increases in closed sales, median sale price and days on market with declines reported in new listings, pending sales, inventory of homes for sale and month’s supply of inventory.

For the month of September 2017, the median home sale price (for all single-family homes and condominiums) was $130,000, an increase of 3.7 percent over the $125,300 September 2016 price. For the year-to-date through September of 2017 the median home sale price was $124,700, up 1.4 percent over the $123,000 price during the same period last year. The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half sold for less.

“Our local housing market has followed a familiar pattern this year and September was no different. Housing inventory is low and continues to lag behind consumer demand. It is a trend that is also being seen at the state and national levels. Buyers are in the market for homes, but many sellers continue to stay on the sidelines and are choosing not to list. That means more buyers are competing for fewer homes, driving prices higher and lowering days on the market, said REALTOR Ed Mahoney of RE/MAX Professionals and president of the organization.

The number of homes sold in the Capital Area increased by 7.8 percent in September of 2017 with 372 homes sold, compared to 345 homes sold in September of 2016. For year-to-date through September of 2017 the number of homes sold was 2,982, up 0.4 percent from the same period last year.

The 19 foreclosure sales in September of 2017 accounted for 5.1 percent of all sales, down from the 34 foreclosure sales (or 9.8 percent of all sales) during the prior September.

The average cumulative days on market (from list date to sell date) for all home sales in September of 2017 was 79 days, up from 69 days in September of 2016. Year-to-date through September 2017 average cumulative days on market was 81, down 2 days from the prior year.

Months inventory is the best indicator of a buyer’s or seller’s market, and this figure continued its descent, from 4.3 months in September 2016 to 4.2 months in September 2017. “When talking about overall inventory levels it’s almost like Groundhog Day. We wake up to the same story every day as inventory levels have been on a gradual and steady decline since the end of 2011,” said Mahoney.

It was noted that the tightest price range, with only 3.5 months of inventory, was from $150,000 to $299,000. The inventory of homes selling for $149,999 or less was 3.7 months, $300,000 to $499,999 was at 6.8 months of inventory and homes selling above $500,000 were 17.8 months of inventory.

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. reported that the national average commitment rate for 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgages was 3.8 percent in September 2017, up from the 3.5 average rate during September of 2016.

The Capital Area’s Resource for Real Estate Information can be found at www.SeeHouses.com.